GOP statement on commissioner districts

Republican members of a citizens' committee created to help Mecklenburg commissioners reset county election lines issued a statement today explaining why they asked state lawmakers to step into the redistricting debate.

The statement was signed jointly by Bryan Holladay, Larry Shaheen, Lee Teague and Mike Walker. -- APRIL BETHEA

A Statement from the Republican members of the Ad Hoc County Commission Redistricting Committee:

After a great deal of soul-searching , the Republican members of the Ad Hoc Redistricting Committee decided to inform local members of the state delegation from the Matthews and Mint Hill of a proposed plan by Democrats on the committee that would severely harm the interests of those towns. A plan we feared would be railroaded through the County Commission.

The Democrats had proposed a plan that created a new, radically different District 6 that winds from Matthews and Mint Hill through central Charlotte then all the way over to South Blvd. The Republicans repeatedly asked for either an explanation or a revision to the plan. At our final meeting and after subsequent requests, neither was forthcoming. It became obvious there would be none.

Our primary concern centers around the impact on the southern towns. Dividing them between two separate districts and tying them to significant areas of Charlotte far from them would dilute their voice on the County Commission and potentially deny them their due from County services such as schools and parks.

Over the course of last week, it has become apparent from email discussions on the four plans agreed to be sent to the Commissioners for consideration that the Democrats real intention was to use their majority on the Committee and the Commission to influence the type of Republican elected from this district. Phrases such as “change for change’s sake” and “an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice” were bandied about. Their hope seems to be to see someone more to their liking at the expense of the southern towns.

We decided we had to take some action so we discussed the issue with the state House and Senate members from Matthews and Mint Hill. They shared our concerns. At their request, we combined the best aspects of all four plans into one fair, legal, and logical plan that minimizes the change from the current districts, produces compact districts that allow all for better interaction between commissioners and their constituents, meets all the guidelines from the County Commission, and keeps communities together. It is a good-faith effort to create six fair districts, not just three or four of them.

This plan has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Brawley with the support of Senators Rucho and Tucker. We applaud the actions of these representatives to protect the interests of the southern towns and the southern part of Mecklenburg County against the redistricting plan proposed by the Democrats.

Bryan Holladay
Larry Shaheen
Lee Teague
Mike Walker

Final report of Open Door internal probe

Mecklenburg County on Wednesday released a final report of an internal investigation launched into allegations of misspent money at Mecklenburg Open Door, a contractor that has received millions in government dollars in recent years.

The report said Open Door's former executive director Ed Payton took out more than $147,000 in unauthorized loans from the organization and racked up nearly $53,000 more in unsubstantiated bills on his company credit card.

The report -- which you can read by clicking here -- was prepared by accountant William Barbee by request of the Open Door board of directors.

Payton has repaid about $79,000 of the money he borrowed, but still owes the organization nearly $122,000. -- April Bethea and Ames Alexander

Jones: mental health director on paid leave

Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones announced Friday he has placed Area Mental Health Director Grayce Crockett on temporary paid leave.

The news came on the heels of a report in today’s Observer about an investigation by Mecklenburg Open Door, which contracts with the mental health department, into claims that its former director misused agency money. The investigation has found “financial and administrative problems” and violations of agency policies, according to the president of its board of directors. The Observer also reported that a federal lien had been placed on Open Door for failure to pay more than $53,000 in payroll taxes. -- APRIL BETHEA


Below is a news release sent by the county Friday afternoon:

AMH Director Placed On Leave During Assessment
9/24/2010

Mecklenburg County Manager Harry L. Jones Sr. announced today that he has placed Area Mental Health (AMH) Director Grayce Crockett on temporary paid leave effective immediately. AMH Deputy Director Carlos Hernandez has been designated as Acting AMH Director during Ms. Crockett’s leave.

This action allows the Mecklenburg County Manager’s Office to assess all actions taken in connection with Mecklenburg Open Door, as the County terminates its relationship with this organization. This process also will include an assessment of management oversight in AMH regarding its handling of this situation. While on temporary leave, Ms. Crockett is expected to fully cooperate with this assessment, including providing all information she has or knows regarding this matter.

“In addition to my concerns about Area Mental Health’s monitoring oversight of the grant, I have additional concerns that we did not have complete information needed to fully brief the Board,” Jones said Friday. “Therefore, we will dig as deep as we can into Mecklenburg Open Door to determine all the facts and to ensure there is appropriate accountability within Area Mental Health.”

Key facts regarding the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) review of the Shelter Care Plus Program that Mecklenburg Open Door administered for the County are available at www.mecklenburgcountync.gov.

E-mails show tension between county and library

UPDATED 4:55 p.m.: See Observer Editorial Page Editor Taylor Batten's response to commenters at the bottom of this post.

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This series of e-mails obtained by the Observer shows tension between Mecklenburg County government leaders and the libraries, which had millions slashed from its budget by county commissioners this year. The cuts forced the closings of three library branches, the reduction of hours at other branches and the layoffs of 187 staff.

Harry Jones is Mecklenburg's County Manager. John McGillicuddy is Jones' aide and Mecklenburg's General Manager. And Robert "Bob" Sink is a Charlotte lawyer and vice chair of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.

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Read GOP commissioner hopefuls' pledge

As a story in today's Observer describes, Republican candidates for the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners have developed a 14-point "pledge to our citizens" outlining their collective campaign platform. You can read the text of the pledge below.

The pledge was read during a Monday press conference by the GOP candidates for the three at-large commissioner seats: Jim Pendergraph, Dan Ramirez and Corey Thompson. Ramirez said the pledge had been developed over the past few months and was approved by all the Republican commissioner candidates.

Click here to get a full list of candidates on this year's ballot. The election is Nov. 2.

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(Republican) Mecklenburg County Commission Candidates

Pledge to Our Citizens

Fiscal Accountability and Governance:
1. We pledge to govern within our means and not abuse the authority to raise and impose taxes.
2. We pledge to reinstate respect and trust in county government by being open with all commission business not restricted by law.
3. We pledge to identify and eliminate wasteful spending in every county department, to outsource any county service that can be done more efficiently and cost effectively by an outside provider, and to cease unnecessary services and duplication of services.
4. We pledge to establish better working relationships with the six municipalities within Mecklenburg County and reduce duplication of services which waste tax dollars.
5. We pledge to ensure that persons receiving non-emergency services and funding from the county are eligible for those services.
6. We pledge not to forget our Mecklenburg County veterans who have given so much to ensure all of us the liberties and freedom we enjoy daily.


Public Safety:
1. We pledge to work diligently to ensure that our citizens not only feel safe in their respective communities, but are safe.
2. We pledge to work closely with the Sheriff, police and our court system to ensure adequate resources to arrest, detain and prosecute offenders.
3. We pledge to work closely with all law enforcement agencies to identify and remove criminal illegal aliens from our county, who are primarily responsible for importing drugs and gang violence into our county.
4. We pledge, as a board, to pressure the N.C. legislature to provide adequate funding for our district attorney and court system.


Education:
1. We pledge to support our Charlotte Mecklenburg School (CMS) system by providing reasonable funding to accomplish what our citizens expect for the education of our children.
2. We pledge to support Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) in their education efforts to train and re-train our future work force.
3. We pledge, as a board, to hold the CMS Board of Education accountable for resources, provided by taxpayers, and expect positive results for the financial support provided.
4. We pledge, as a board, to continue to encourage the Board of Education to privatize segments of the CMS system, including food services, maintenance, transportation, and health services potentially resulting in huge tax dollar savings.

More on new Meck County Manager pay plan

As a story in today's Observer reports, county commissioners approved a new pay plan for County Manager Harry Jones on Tuesday that eliminates performance bonuses from his compensation package.

Commissioners have approved bonuses regularly to county managers since the mid-1990s, but agreed in 2004 to change the way they are awarded. Under that plan, which you can read here, the manager could receive a performance bonus of up to 30 percent of his base salary based on four criteria, including percentage of county goals achieved and demonstrated leadership.

But on Tuesday, commissioners voted to eliminate that bonus, which they've also called "pay at risk" in the past year. Click here to read new details of the new pay plan.

Instead, the manager's base salary can be changed based on the "prevailing market rate" of his position. Any change to the base salary beyond the market adjustment will be based on the board's evaluation of the manager's performance, according to a document outlining the changes.
(Read more about how the county makes decisions on market rate and other pay adjustments by clicking here.)

For the year that begins July 1, Jones' base salary will be $242,500, up from his current pay of $215,655. The county said the increase is consistent with the average market rate adjustment of other county positions since 2008, the last time the manager had an increase in his base salary.

Jones' total compensation, however, is going down by about 6.6 percent to $283,011. That's because the county eliminated the bonus, as well as a match to his 401(k) plan.

Commissioners said Jones requested the decrease to his compensation.

In other changes to Jones' pay agreement, commissioners agreed to provide full payment of Jones' health insurance premiums if he is terminated by the board before December of 2011. Previously the board had agreed to pay 50 percent of those premiums. In addition, the board will continue to pay the health insurance for Jones' wife until she becomes Medicare eligible, regardless of whether Jones is terminated or retires.

Jones, 60, has been county manager since 2000.

Commissioners typically conduct their evaluation of Jones during the fall, but Chairman Jennifer Roberts said they wanted to discuss Jones' pay at the same time they considered the 2010-11 budget. Roberts said the board's evaluation of Jones' performance will continue in August. -- April Bethea

County budget: what would you cut, spare?

With three weeks to go until Mecklenburg County commissioners are expected to vote on a 2010-11 budget, board members have a series of questions to sort out.

Among the biggest ones: 1) Should the county cut less from the libraries, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools or other services? 2) Are there any areas that should be cut deeper than the manager's recommendation?

Tell us what you think. The county has posted the recommended budget on its web site, including breaking down the document in easy-to-digest chunks.

Perhaps the best one is the "Budget Overview," which you can read by clicking here.

It has a line item list of county program and service areas, a breakdown of whether the county has any flexibility in providing that service and/or its funding level, the recommended funding for education and non-profit agencies, and details of what jobs could be cut in the budget.

Are there any expenses that deserve better scrutiny? We're hoping to take a look at your ideas and those proposed in March in the coming weeks.

Commissioners are scheduled to approve the budget June 15. In the coming weeks, they'll host a series of budget workshops and, on Thursday, a public hearing.

The hearing is set for 6 p.m. Thursday in the chamber of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. Fourth St. To speak at the hearing, call 704-336-2086 or click here. -- APRIL BETHEA